Today, the 58 SOW
continues the training mission of the 542 CTW, a mission that began
at Kirtland AFB in 1976 with the 1550th Aircrew Training and Test
Wing (ATTW).

The 1550 ATTW first
activated on 1 April 1971 at Hill AFB, Utah. It relocated to Kirtland
AFB on 20 February 1976. The unit was re-designated as the 1550th
Combat Crew Training Wing (CCTW) on 15 May 1984. On 1 October 1991,
the 1550 CCTW inactivated and the training mission transferred to the
542d Crew Training Wing, which as mentioned earlier, transferred to
the 58 SOW on 1 April 1994.

The wing also plays a
vital role in local/regional search and rescue missions. While
training is the primary mission here, search and rescue members
assigned to the wing are typically called upon two or more times each
year to support civilian rescue operations. To date, aircrews from
Kirtland AFB have participated in more than 280 rescue operations and
its members have been credited with saving more than 225 lives.

On 11 September 2001,
immediately following a series of terrorist attacks launched against
the United States, the 58 SOW flew an MC-130H carrying a federal
emergency response team to the crash site of United Flight 93 in
Pennsylvania. Since then, personnel and aircrews from the 58 SOW have
supported and played a significant role in Operations ENDURING
FREEDOM, IRAQI FREEDOM and other contingencies around the world.

To aid the war on
terrorism the 58 SOW began providing a variety of specialized mission
rehearsal simulator training courses including high altitude,
low-visibility dust-out training for special operations helicopter
crews projected to deploy. By better preparing these aircrews, the 58
SOW has made high altitude combat helicopter operations safer. Since
2001, the wing has deployed more than 160 personnel in support of the
global war on terror.

On 23 November 2003,
the 58 SOW suffered its first casualty of the war on terrorism. On
this date, Maj Steven Plumhoff, an MH-53J pilot, was killed in a
helicopter crash while deployed to Afghanistan for Operation ENDURING
FREEDOM.

The first Air Force
SUPT-H students began attending Army sponsored helicopter pilot
training at Fort Rucker in 1971. Prior to 1970, the Air Force
conducted its own helicopter pilot training at places like Sheppard
AFB, Texas and Stead AFB, Nevada. From 1971 to 2004, SUPT-H at Fort
Rucker primarily operated as an Army owned and controlled program. In
2004, this changed. The training remained at Fort Rucker, but the Air
Force assumed ownership/responsibility for conducting Air Force
SUPT-H.

In May 2004, the Army
transferred six UH-1Hs to the 23d Flying Training Squadron at Fort
Rucker. By the fall of 2004, 40 UH-1Hs were transferred to the Air
Force. This virtually doubled the wing’s total number of
assigned aircraft. Today, the Air Force and 58 SOW have full
ownership of Air Force SUPT-H at Fort Rucker.

A contract crew chief
steps aside as an Air Force UH-1H takes off at Fort Rucker, Alabama

Looking to the future,
members of the 58 SOW will continue serving at the leading edge of
technology, training and development. As the Air Force’s
premier special operations combat aircrew training wing, the 58 SOW
will be called upon to train America’s best in the Air Force’s
next generation special operations tilt-rotor aircraft—the
CV-22. The first Air Force CV-22 Osprey is scheduled to arrive at
Kirtland AFB in 2006. (for more info:
http://www.58sow.kirtland.af.mil/index.htm
)